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Nina Archer

Biography

My work has a broad association with landscape and is resonant with marks made by cultivation, ancient and modern. The recent work is very much about my observation of the landscape close to me, more specifically, what I see from my studio or experience on daily walks. As our boundaries began to close in last year, the landscape I have access to has become the one constant during this time.

I work building up multiple layers with palette knife and then sanding, scoring and erasing to reveal or obscure a memory of something previous. I use elements of what I see, examining and absorbing parts of the landscape such as form, colour, texture and the changing weather patterns, simplifying shapes and creating tonal contrast, erasing and retrieving textural detail and paring down to simple abstraction. 

Through the application of multiple layers of gesso, charcoal, acrylic and graphite, there is always evidence of numerous adjustments and traces left behind. I am always aware of how important accident or the element of chance are, changing the direction of the work and often taking it down an unexpected route.

The textural detail and colour is used as a contrast, to focus or balance the composition and although the textures and colours are broadly from the landscape they are not used in any representational way. I like the idea that there are areas in the painting that may look flat from afar but when you examine them closely there is much more going on – the surface has been reworked and is often highly textured. 

My training and background is in design and this has had a significant effect on my understanding of form, proportion and mark making and has been instrumental in the development of a graphic approach to the work.